This combination of antioxidant-rich papaya and carotenoid with omega-3 rich walnuts and Greek yogurt makes a delicious bite. When snacking, you should combine a vegetable or a fruit with protein and some healthy fat.
You can use Greek yogurt to cut back on sweeteners. On the other hand, papaya has a healthy dose of potassium and fiber for good heart health, vitamin C and A for mucosal and skin cell rejuvenation, and folate, which play a major role in cellular metabolism. Also, papayas contain papain, an enzyme that helps break down many proteins.
Research is underway to determine the role of papain in digestion as it helps break down proteins in the GIT. Walnuts are also known to prevent cancer because they have higher amounts of polyphenols. Add walnuts to savory dishes, breakfasts, and snacks, like this Papaya Yogurt & Walnut Boat Recipe.
Nutrition Highlights
- Calories – 184
- Protein – 9g
- Carbs – 21g
- Fat – 9g
Cooking Time
- Preparation Time – 5 mins
- Cook Time – 0 mins
- Total Time – 5 mins
- Servings – 2
Ingredients
- One medium papaya, sliced
- ½ a cup of plain Greek yogurt (low fat)
- ¼ cup of walnuts
- ¼ tsp. of ground cinnamon
Preparation
1. Scoop out the papaya seeds
2. Fill every papaya half with walnut halves, half of the yogurt, and dust with the cinnamon.
3. Use a spoon to scoop out the bites of the papaya
Tips To Prepare Main Ingredients
The Papaya Yogurt & Walnut Boat Recipe is an easy-to-make recipe that only involves simple ingredients. To help you prepare this recipe, we’ve listed the tips you can use to prepare this recipe. Follow these tips for the best result.
Papaya
You can easily include papaya in your daily meal plan. Papayas add color and flavor to meals while packing numerous nutrients. You can slice the papaya and remove the skin or eat it plain or with a squirt of lime or lemon. You can also blend the papaya to make protein marinades, chilled soups, spicy and sweet sauces, and smoothies.
In this recipe, you can also dice the papayas and add them to compote, salsas, or fruit salads. Also, the papaya black-colored seeds are edible and have a unique bitter flavor. It can be eaten raw or roasted. With many health benefits, papayas are worth trying out. Before you cut into the fresh papaya, ensure you clean your hands and wash the papaya under tap water to clean off dirt or bacteria on the skin that might transfer into the knife when cutting.
Walnuts
Walnuts are highly versatile foods. You can eat them on their own as a snack or combine them with fruit serving. In this Papaya Yogurt & Walnut Boat Recipe, you’ll be adding walnuts to the papaya fruit. However, walnuts can also be used to replace breadcrumbs or added to oatmeal, side dishes, and salads. You can also try substituting the walnuts in protein shakes or smoothies. They can even be used as meal replacements for nut butter, chia, hemp, or flaxseed.
Ground Cinnamon
When buying ground cinnamon, always look for the expiration date on the label. This is important to ensure you do not buy expired cinnamon, which might bring some unwanted health problems.
Notes
- If you want to pack the snack when on the move, you can start by peeling the papaya, slice it into cubes and pack into the container for easy travel.
- You can serve the halved papayas and set the table featuring different toppings and fillings (dried fruits, fresh fruits, chia seeds, coconut flakes, walnuts, or thick yogurt).
- If you don’t like the firm texture and intense flavor of the papaya, you should consider chilling it before consumption to reduce undesired flavors.
Minerals And Vitamins You Get From This Recipe
With the Papaya Yogurt & Walnut Boat Recipe, you also enjoy many health benefits mainly because of the minerals and vitamins that you get from it. For instance, papayas are rich in vitamin C, while walnuts are packed with vitamins (thiamin, folate, vitamin B6) and minerals (selenium, potassium, zinc, calcium, and iron).
Vitamin B6
As mentioned above, walnuts contain many vitamins, including vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 benefits heart health by reducing the byproduct of metabolism called homocysteine associated with increased risks of atherosclerosis. Vitamin B6 is known to offer many health benefits. It helps prevent tardive dyskinesia, stroke, sideroblastic anemia, premenstrual syndrome, kidney stones, hyperemesis gravidarum, cancer, atherosclerosis, and age-related macular degeneration.
Thiamin
Thiamin helps the body utilize carbohydrates to produce energy. It’s a B complex vitamin essential for the metabolism of glucose and plays a significant role in heart, muscle, and nerve function.
Thiamin helps prevent complications in the intestines, stomach, heart, muscles, brain, and nervous system. Also, it’s involved in the electrolyte flow into or out of the nerve and muscle cells. This prevents diseases like beriberi, which involve disorders in the digestive system, nerve, and heart.
Selenium
As a trace mineral, your body only needs small amounts of this element. Selenium usually combines with protein to form antioxidants known as selenoproteins. Selenoproteins help protect cells in the body from damage by the free radicals. Also, selenium is essential for DNA synthesis, reproduction, and thyroid function.
Zinc
Zinc is another essential trace mineral that the body needs for good health. Because the body cannot produce zinc, you should get it from dietary supplements from the food you eat. Zinc is required for different biological functions. Without enough supply of zinc, the body won’t be able to heal properly, ward off infection and develop normally.
About Main Ingredients
As mentioned in the ingredients section above, there are four ingredients that you require to prepare this recipe. In this section, we take an in-depth look at the main ingredients you need for this recipe and their nutritional benefits.
Papaya
Papaya is mildly sweet, soft, yellow/greenish fruit with a pear-like shape weighing between 1 and 2 pounds. Because of its natural sweetness, you might get confused with regards to whether they are a healthy option. Fortunately, papayas are rich in fiber and are also loaded with many nutrients such as vitamin A and C.
Papayas add versatility to this recipe and can also be pureed for savory and sweet sauces, sorbets, or sups. Also, papayas make for a great marinade because they contain an enzyme known as papain that helps tenderize meat by breaking down the proteins. The nutrition information below is for one cup of raw papaya.
- Protein – 0.7g
- Sugars – 11g
- Fiber – 2.5g
- Carbohydrates – 16g
- Sodium – 11.6 mg
- Fat – 0.4g
- Calories – 62
Because of the high nutrient content, papayas provide many health benefits for the entire body. It helps keep the body cells healthy. Papaya plays a major role in protecting the cells from damage. Some of the health benefits that papaya offers include improved skin, improved vision, supports heart health, helps prevent cancer, and aid digestion.
While rare, papaya allergies are still possible. Technically, if you’re allergic to cashew, pistachios, and mango, you might also react to papaya.
Papayas are available throughout the year, with the peak season between April and June. Papaya has a taste, which isn’t like other fruits, with a mild flavor and creamy mouthful.
Papayas might be stored at room temperature until they are completely ripe and refrigerated for about one week. Color is the best determinant of ripeness, not softness. If you’ve bought unripe papayas and want them to ripen faster, you should place them in the paper bag containing a banana. Ripe bananas usually release ethylene, a gas that helps fruit ripen much quicker.
Walnuts
Walnuts are a nutritious snack and can be a hearty addition to different recipes, from savory dishes to baked goods. Walnuts are a good source of healthy fats (polyunsaturated fat) that can promote heart health. While there are different varieties of walnuts, English walnuts are the most popular. The nutrition information below is for 7 English walnuts.
- Protein – 4.3g
- Sugars – 0.7g
- Fiber – 1.9g
- Carbohydrates – 3.8g
- Sodium – 0.6mg
- Fat – 18g
- Calories – 183
Eating walnuts as part of this recipe will provide many health benefits, including improved heart health, aids in weight loss and management, decreased risks of prostate cancer, reduces inflammation, and boost brain health.
Tree allergies are infrequent. Cashews, almonds, and walnuts belong to tree nuts. Some of the allergies associated with tree nuts include itching of the skin, eyes, throat, or mouth, a runny nose or nasal congestion, difficulty swallowing, vomiting, nausea, cramps, and abdominal pain.
Ground Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a great spice, which many people rely on when making snacks from French toast to apple pie.
Final Verdict
Papaya boasts many topping options! Just load the fruit with banana and get going with nuts, seeds, and fruity! This papaya yogurt boat recipe is delicious and pretty, so it’s a great way to start your busy day. You can eat this snack for breakfast, or if you want to save it for later, you can put it in the refrigerator and eat it as a dessert or snack.
You should choose the creamy and rich Greek yogurt, but the vegan yogurt option is very delicious. This papaya breakfast boat is topped with Greek Yogurt, and then the nutritious walnut seeds are sprinkled on top.
FAQs
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